Yes, you can have vegan sloppy Joes! This saucy, plant-strong recipe features bulgur as the star ingredient, and it all comes together in just 30 minutes. Sloppy Joes are a lot easier to eat stuffed into a pita than piled on a traditional bun. Look for store-bought barbecue sauce that’s oil-free, or make your own.
By Del Sroufe ,
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry bulgur
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- ½ cup finely chopped green bell pepper
- ½ cup finely chopped celery
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1¾ cups oil-free barbecue sauce
- 1 Tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce or tamari
- Sea salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 3 whole grain pita bread rounds
Instructions
- In a small saucepan bring 2 cups water to boiling. Stir in bulgur. Return to boiling; remove from heat. Cover and let stand at least 15 minutes. Drain off any remaining liquid.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet cook onion, bell pepper, and celery over medium 7 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding additional water, 1 to 2 Tbsp. at a time, as needed to prevent sticking. Add garlic; cook 1 minute or until softened.
- Stir in bulgur, barbecue sauce, and soy sauce. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook 10 minutes.
- In a dry skillet heat pita rounds, one at a time, on both sides until warm. Cut in half crosswise and fill with bulgur mixture.
Nutritional Information:
Per serving (1 stuffed pita half), 265 calories, 46 g carbohydrates, 9 g protein, 3 g total fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 320 mg sodium, 8 g fiber, 6 g sugar
Note: Nutritional information is provided as an estimate only.
I haven’t made it yet, but I’m just curious why it wasn’t planned with lentils.
How many people does this serve?
Hi Chantal, the recipe makes 6 stuffed pitta halves. I would allow 2 halves per person; however, someone with a small appetite is likely to only need one.
Way too much bbq sauce. Overpowered the veggies. Bulgar gave it a nice texture. Better WFPB recipes out there for Sloppy Joes. The comments were all good. I tried it and all we tasted was bbq sauce not good.
Can u use quinoa?
Absolutely amazing! Looks and tastes incredibly similar to meat sloppy joes. My family, who does not follow a whole-foods, plant-based diet and loves meat even loved this recipe! Very easy to make and a pretty cost effective recipe with items that can be found at most grocery stores. Already planning to make again.
This was really good. After over a year of struggling with eating issues, it feels nice to be able to add more to my menu. This I hope can one of them.
I’ve made this using farro because that’s what I had on hand and red bell peppers and it was delicious so I’ve remade it several times. The farro can definitely be made in an InstaPot!
Just made some with TVP, it was delish.
I must try this recipe for dinner today. Looks yummy.
Says makes 6 pitas but the recipe only asks for 3??
The pitas are halved so 3 pitas make 6 sandwiches.
This looks like a recipe that could be EASILY adapted to instant pot. Why don’t you try?
I’m shopping around for bulgur and I see that there are different kinds of grains. Would you recommend course, sign, or medium? Thank you!
So so good! Made this tonight. Very easy and fast. Served over homemade whole wheat sourdough.